Same old, same old in AP poll, too

Posted by John Taylor on September 22, 2013, 3:37 PM EDT

AP

Much the way it was with the coaches’ poll, the media’s weekly poll release has seen precious little change throughout.

In the Associated Press‘ Top 25, the first 14 spots this week were the same as this time last Sunday. Alabama, of course, remains No. 1 for the fifth consecutive week. Oregon again came in at No. 2, although the Ducks plucked three first-place votes from the Tide and now stand at four.

The Tide received the remaining 56 first-place votes.

The remainder of the Top 10 stays unchanged from Week 3 and consists of Clemson, Ohio State, Stanford, LSU, Louisville, Florida, Georgia and Texas A&M from 3-10, respectively.

The first change from a week ago comes as a direct result of Michigan’s winning struggles. The Wolverines dropped three to No. 18, allowing Miami (No. 15), Washington (No. 16) and Northwestern (No. 17) to climb up one spot apiece.

No other team moved up or down more than one spot.

There was just one new team entering the rankings: Texas Tech at No. 25. The Red Raiders replaced No. 23 Arizona State.

Michigan gets the benefit of the doubt because they are Michigan. Too many overinflated egos that can’t let themselves believe that UM football is not good, have the voters buying what they are telling them.
Add to that, the fact that the NCAA and the voters feel that if UM, OSU and others are perceived good, then NCAA football is better. And don’t forget that the Big Ten has huge $$$ to make itself look better than it is. They rely on UM and OSU to keep their image.
Why else would UM even be in the preseason polls after an 8-5 year and losing their only offensive weapon, DRob? They are not good. Neither is the Big Ten. OSU is the only team that is worthy of top 25, and maybe Northwestern. But neither should be top 10.